


Difficult Love

by Kimmy



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fanwork of Fanwork, Gen, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 15:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8538709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimmy/pseuds/Kimmy
Summary: Alec talks to his sister and his father.





	1. Sister

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katikat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katikat/gifts).
  * Inspired by [All Things Shadowhunters](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5178632) by [katikat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katikat/pseuds/katikat). 



> Katikat is my guru. This work is coda and a sequel to her vicious!verse, following some time after chapter 201.

There’s a knock on Clary’s door and a head of one Alec Lightwood shyly appears inside.

“Can I…?”

Clary waves him in and scoots over on her bed, letting him sit next to her. A silence that follows is far from comfortable but not exactly unpleasant. In the end, it’s Alec who decides to break it.

“So… siblings?”

Clary brings her eyes up to meet his.

“Yeah… looks like that. Guess our moms could compete for the shittiest choice of the year award.”

The joke is lame and it falls flat. Alec laughs quietly but it’s more nervous sound than actual amusement.

“Clary, I wanted… I just wanted to apologise.” He looks at her, guilt in his expression. “Siblings or strangers, I treated you like shit and our relationship has been far from perfect. I had no right to be like that. And now it looks like I am the biggest hypocrite to refuse to trust you just on the basis that you were Valentine’s child…”

Clary stops him.

“Come on, Alec. Neither of us knew.”

He smiles slightly, honestly this time.

“I’m just sorry. I shouldn’t have been shitty to you. Wanna start over… sister?”

Clary laughs and tackles Alec in a hug.

“You’re cool. I didn’t like it when you were all pissed with me. Peace sound great.”

And it feels like some kind of bad energy just leaves Alec within that moment, even though so many things came to light that should have weighed him down.

But Alec knows his worth. Valentine’s parentage changes nothing about him or Clary but they get each other out of it.

“Clary… You realise I’m gonna go big brother on you now and make sure you train so hard you forget your name?”

Clary bursts out laughing.

“That’s fair. Honestly, better you than Jace and Izzy.”

They both laugh and just like that everything is alright again.

Alec bumps Clary’s shoulder.

“You ready to be a part of this family, Lightwood?”

“If you think you can take me, Fairchild.”

Clary’s smirk is playful but there is something underneath it.

“Not Morgenstern.” She adds after a while and Alec, shuddering theatrically, nods in agreement, before smiling at her.

“Never Morgenstern.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Robert finally talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it's been almost a year.  
> But here it is!

It’s been two days, and Alec still hasn’t seen him, so he feels like it’s time. He knows his father well enough to know he won’t seek him out himself and they  _ need _ to talk. But Robert, Robert isn’t good at talking. Alec got it from him. They may not share genes, but Alec always took from his father.

 

_ Robert _ . Robert was his father, not Valentine.

 

He find him in the Head’s office, looking out of the window. He looks small and blends with the background and if Alec wasn’t searching for him he would have missed him.

 

“Hey, dad.”

 

“Alec.” He startles, turning to look at him, his eyes wide, terrified, but also… hopeful. “Are you alright? What are you doing here?”

 

“I’m fine. Surprisingly fine. I’m sorry I’ve been so… absent but I needed some time to process it all.”

 

“And you did?” Robert is avoiding eye contact, so Alec comes a step closer.

 

“Yeah… I went to Magnus, spent the day there yesterday. He was great about it, considering the whole mess makes his boyfriend son of the man who tried to commit genocide on his kind. We talked… a lot. I cried, he cried, we cuddled. It felt good. He helped me accept it. And I talked to Clary this morning.”

 

Robert perks up at that, curious, wary.

 

“I may not accept Valentine as my father but she is my sister and I’m happy to be her brother. So I guess, I made relative peace with it. Valentine’s dead, it doesn’t matter. I just need to talk with one last person.”

 

Alec looks up but Robert is turning away from him, looking hurt.

 

“Well, your mother isn’t here as you can see.”

 

“What?” He realises what’s going on and takes quick steps in Robert’s direction, putting his hand on his shoulder. “I’m not looking for mom. I don’t want to talk to mom, preferably ever.”

 

Robert’s eyes shine with hope again.

 

“Can we sit down?”

 

They do, and Alec snuggles close to his father’s side, like back when he was a five-year-old boy seeking comfort. It feels good.

 

“I know it hurts. I know it hurts  _ me _ to know mom cheated on you and I can’t even imagine what it’s like for you. But you’ll get through this. She’s a bad person and you’re good and strong and you can do it. I know you can. But I need to tell you it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that I am a result of that affair, because you’re my dad and you’ll always be my dad more than Maryse was ever a mother to me. You accepted me when she couldn’t, you read to me to sleep when I was still too little to be of interest to her… You’re my dad, genes be damned.”

 

And Robert is crying, and holding him close and suddenly, Alec feels like he doesn’t care Valentine is his biological father. Maybe he’s even glad. Because he finally admitted to himself what kind of a mother Maryse really is, he gained an amazing sister and maybe this will help his relationship with his father. His  _ real _ father.

 

It’s alright. Valentine tried, but he could never strike down the real Lightwood family.


End file.
